James Gunn's Superman Coming In 2025

[Vordan]

On a purely hypothetical topic, I am curious how a live-action depiction of Mongul would work.

Since good character as he is he's still a yellow-skinned guy with a name thats basically Mongol with a letter removed. I can understand the issues there with a live-action appearance of him.

I’ve wondered if the origin of the name was supposed to be “mogul” or “mongol”, and making him yellow didn’t help to be sure (neither did making him a Darkseid knockoff). Still I’m not aware of major complaints about him, especially since he’s usually Roman coded not Asian coded. He enslaved people and runs gladiator rings, it’s not like Ming the Merciless where he’s explicitly a “Yellow Peril” bad guy. I don’t think most people would be bothered by it, he’s shown up in video games and animation without any major blowback.

[Vordan]

That’s…. Actually not a bad choice. Bautista wants to play roles with more gravitas that aren’t just comedy relief or unthinking brute. Mongul would fit that desire perfectly.

[Morgoth]

I have a feeling, that even if Mongul is in the movie, it's gonna be teaser for sequel. Gunn actually mentioned Warworld Saga and Superman & Authority (that he read them), so, who knows.

[Jeffrey2]

I don’t know why people pretend that there’s zero interest in Superman. MOS was a result of bad management.
So was Superman and Lois. Had over a million views per episode, but what ruined it was the random long break and replacing its timeslot with Supergirl causing confusion. His animated movies still sell well enough. And I still see people wearing Superman shirts, both kids and adults. It’s just Warner bros mishandling the character and giving the IP to the wrong people. Smallville was popular when it came out. And Superman Returns underperformed, but the movie was terrible imo. Very boring with little to no action, and it still made more than Batman Begins. The only difference is that Batman Begins was a far better movie with much better reception.

True about MOS. It was set to be huge, and audiences turned out in droves. The actual film did not live up to the promise of the trailers/hype and that falls on Snyder and Goyer. And WB. Smallville was a huge success and is one of the longest running scripted TV shows ever. The Superboy TV series was a top 10 syndicated show for its 4-year run. In terms of live action Superman has fared better on TV than in the films - sans the first 2 Reeve films.

[Vordan]

It being present day with Damian being around while Jon is not only reinforces my belief that Kingdom Come is in fact the endgame here.

I have a feeling, that even if Mongul is in the movie, it's gonna be teaser for sequel. Gunn actually mentioned Warworld Saga and Superman & Authority (that he read them), so, who knows.

Gotta make Superman (2025) a success first but I would not be shocked if Gunn wanted to adapt the Saga. After Dune’s breakout success, doing a sequel or HBO Max series adapting the Warworld Saga is the easiest layup ever.



People would go nuts for Superman meets Spartacus IN SPACE!

[Morgoth]

Gotta make Superman (2025) a success first but I would not be shocked if Gunn wanted to adapt the Saga. After Dune’s breakout success, doing a sequel or HBO Max series adapting the Warworld Saga is the easiest layup ever.

That's the reason why I'm really concerned about box office (not only Superman, but Marvel movies as well, even Deadpool 3 this year). This whole fatigue thing keeps me worried, because I really like what I'm seeing looking at Gunn's announcements and possible spoilers/leaks. Superman movie, Bat-Family movie starring Damian, Green Lantern Corps TV-show, Authority, Swamp-Thing, the prospect of seeing adaptations of Warworld Saga and Kingdom Come. I just want it to be successful long enough at least to get all of that to happen. It's gonna be really devastating, if it's not going to work out.

[Last Son of Krypton]

That’s…. Actually not a bad choice. Bautista wants to play roles with more gravitas that aren’t just comedy relief or unthinking brute. Mongul would fit that desire perfectly.

He does look the part.

It being present day with Damian being around while Jon is not only reinforces my belief that Kingdom Come is in fact the endgame here.

During an interview with Screen Rant at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, Lekic revealed that the team behind Warworld originally wanted to adapt Kingdom Come as their next animated feature. "We originally talked about Kingdom Come after this, but changing regimes, we couldn't go forward with anything like that," Lekic said, hinting that DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran pulled the plug on the adaptation. The producer added, "They might incorporate it in the future with the New World, but that was one that we talked about as an obvious possibility to continue."
https://www.cbr.com/kingdom-come-ani...ed-dc-studios/

Gotta make Superman (2025) a success first but I would not be shocked if Gunn wanted to adapt the Saga. After Dune’s breakout success, doing a sequel or HBO Max series adapting the Warworld Saga is the easiest layup ever.



People would go nuts for Superman meets Spartacus IN SPACE!

That would be so cool in live action.

[Robotman]

I think Mongol would require too much story for this first movie that already has a lot of characters in it. Not just an alien invasion but Warworld and the gladiatorial storyline.

Plus the alien invasion thing has been done a lot and if they’re going to have a world destroying alien appear in this franchise they should save that role for Brainiac.

[Frontier]

Love how you guys continue to take Jeffery’s bait (and yes I know I’m guilty of it too). Why are you even engaging with him? All he’s ever done is doompost and it’s all he will ever do. He should be banned for concern trolling.

The guy who said the s-shield would be Kingdom Come and also claimed that there would be Lexcorp troopers has teased Mongul.


Might just be trolling but who knows?

Wonder if it would be just like Bendis where he's just basically a one-shot villain Supes just casually beats .

I mean, he did have his sister on the Suicide Squad...and then unceremoniously killed her off, but still.

[Leancarp900]

The guy who said the s-shield would be Kingdom Come and also claimed that there would be Lexcorp troopers has teased Mongul.


Might just be trolling but who knows?

I think the main villain is being kept under wraps and it wouldn't surprise me if it's Mongul. Gunn is naming the movie "Superman" (certainly a declaration of intent...) yet the villain is The Engineer? Dunno, it doesn't make sense to me.

You already mentioned Gunn kept the High Evolutionary as a secret and he also did the same with Ego in GoTG2 who wasn't revealed until SDCC 2016.

[Vordan]

I think Mongol would require too much story for this first movie that already has a lot of characters in it. Not just an alien invasion but Warworld and the gladiatorial storyline.

Plus the alien invasion thing has been done a lot and if they’re going to have a world destroying alien appear in this franchise they should save that role for Brainiac.

I don’t think it would be for this movie, it would be for the sequel I think. With Mongul the appeal is sending Superman to Warworld. Instead of the villain invading the hero’s home, the hero takes the fight to the villain.

I think the main villain is being kept under wraps and it wouldn't surprise me if it's Mongul. Gunn is naming the movie "Superman" (certainly a declaration of intent...) yet the villain is The Engineer? Dunno, it doesn't make sense to me.

You already mentioned Gunn kept the High Evolutionary as a secret and he also did the same with Ego in GoTG2 who wasn't revealed until SDCC 2016.

Yeah that’s the cope. Right now I’m assuming it’s only Lex and the Engineer because there’s no point getting your hopes up for anything more only to get disappointed. Been wondering why Gunn left out Mercy and I think it’s because the Engineer is going to fill a similar role of the cyborg henchwoman to Lex. However if Brainiac is in this I think Gunn will go with the Kryptonian AI take. Maybe he won’t have a body for most of the movie and is possessing the Engineer until he designs his own body in the finale?

[The Frog Bros]

Gotta make Superman (2025) a success first but I would not be shocked if Gunn wanted to adapt the Saga. After Dune’s breakout success, doing a sequel or HBO Max series adapting the Warworld Saga is the easiest layup ever.



People would go nuts for Superman meets Spartacus IN SPACE!

Man, that would be awesome.

I waited the entirety of the Warworld Saga for an “I am Spartacus/Superman” reference. Maybe a movie version would deliver.

[Doctor Know]

Gotta make Superman (2025) a success first but I would not be shocked if Gunn wanted to adapt the Saga. After Dune’s breakout success, doing a sequel or HBO Max series adapting the Warworld Saga is the easiest layup ever.



People would go nuts for Superman meets Spartacus IN SPACE!

It would be awesome to see Superman embrace his John Carter of Mars roots on the big screen. I doubt Gunn or Zaslav have the rizz to showcase a Superman with so much awesome sauce!

[Robotman]

I don’t think it would be for this movie, it would be for the sequel I think. With Mongul the appeal is sending Superman to Warworld. Instead of the villain invading the hero’s home, the hero takes the fight to the villain.

Yeah that’s the cope. Right now I’m assuming it’s only Lex and the Engineer because there’s no point getting your hopes up for anything more only to get disappointed. Been wondering why Gunn left out Mercy and I think it’s because the Engineer is going to fill a similar role of the cyborg henchwoman to Lex. However if Brainiac is in this I think Gunn will go with the Kryptonian AI take. Maybe he won’t have a body for most of the movie and is possessing the Engineer until he designs his own body in the finale?

When the “Legacy” name was announced I was trying to figure out how it would apply to Superman’s mythos. Jon Kent isn’t in this so it would have to be the legacy of Krypton. Rewatching the Superman: TAS episode with Brainiac (the Kryptonian AI version) he literally tells Supes that they are Krypton’s legacy. Gunn could be going in that direction.

Though I’m not a fan of the world destroying threat once again coming from Krypton and possibly being here because Superman was sent to earth. Too similar to Zod in MoS.

The evil AI is pretty poignant with all that’s going on in the world, but the Avengers already did that with Age of Ultron.

[Vordan]

When the “Legacy” name was announced I was trying to figure out how it would apply to Superman’s mythos. Jon Kent isn’t in this so it would have to be the legacy of Krypton. Rewatching the Superman: TAS episode with Brainiac (the Kryptonian AI version) he literally tells Supes that they are Krypton’s legacy. Gunn could be going in that direction.

Though I’m not a fan of the world destroying threat once again coming from Krypton and possibly being here because Superman was sent to earth. Too similar to Zod in MoS.

The evil AI is pretty poignant with all that’s going on in the world, but the Avengers already did that with Age of Ultron.

Way to make it work is that Brainiac isn’t trying to destroy or conquer Earth. He’s trying to save it:



From his perspective the Earth is doomed, but at least by bottling a city some remnant of humanity will live on. In his eyes that makes him a hero, making the hard choices necessary to prevent humanity from dying out like the Kryptonians will. Clark thus opposes Brainiac’s methods just like he opposes Lex/the Authority’s approach to “saving” humanity.